Door indicating device



Nov. 30, 1948. R. WlRTH DOOR IfiDIGATING DEVICE I 2 Sh e ets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 24, 1948 'ATTORNEY Nov. 30, 1948. wlRTH 2,455,208

DOOR INDICATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 24, 1 948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RuooLPH Wm-rH-r.

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 30, 1948 Y ll r U. min -sw n mbl '51 ,,-D;- 1i-,' .--K w'i H UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,455,203"? 7 noon INDICATING DEVIGE' midaipifwiith, sea-Years. Y? ApplicationJanuarii'M, 194's, seiiai' 'naaait'z is-oaths; (cii io ss'i' This invention relates to door indicating de- Figure 4 he section *of Pisa-3 taken-along-line+ vices; more particularly to manually manipulabie 4-4; p v indicators on doors adapted to expose to view a Figurefi is-afrontview of the-actuatingimefib sign, symbol or message. an-ism of Fig. 3pthe cam-plate'being "shown'in" There is a wide field for devicesof the-'above- 5 neutralposition; 'thesigmandits carrier bar be mentioned category in -'hotels,-apartment houses in'g shown by'dot -da'shiines in-their lowered-p051:- and ofiices, where it may benecessary to'inform tionx' prospective visitors, employees or othepcallers Figure 6 is-a'viewlikeFigz figthe"partsbeingas to whether or not the premises maybe -entei'ed.- shiown'in theirrespective positions when the-"sign" Although variousdevices-have been employed-for 10 is'inits-iowered-or exposedpositionr such purposes, bearing suchmessages' as Do'No't' Figure? isal'so: a =vievir--like"-Fig:-5, 'the-*pai't'se Disturb, Open, Out to Lunch? rates-they gen being snown 'in-theif respective positions-when era-11y are built-in parts-of the' 'doorlocking '01 the-signisin"its-iaised'orhiddenposition-2" openingmechanism, or'entirely separate unitsin Figure .8 is a fragmentary perspective view'of" no way connected with such mechanisr'nand the escutcheon and associated parts in the region hence requirin'g'speciali manipulative effort. It'isofitswindoww primarily within the contemplation of my inV'en- Figure-9 is-a section"'of-Fig: 8 taken *sub'stan tion to combi'nethe advantages of'both-said-t ypes tialiyfllfi i filerbf? ofindicators by'providing a device that; although. Figure lo-is'a section of-Fi '8 taken-'substam operable by the door opening mechanism; -nevertially alo'nglineIO -IO thereof:

theless is not a built-in orintegralcomponent =Figure ll-is a fragmentary perspective-view (01? thereof; the front-and rear sign carrying bars and the' Inthe above-mentioned aspectofmyinvention, key hole portions of the correspondingescutcheon" it is animportant object to enable the device to-- plates, "the dooflandcasinesbeing removedi-said-r be readily attached to existing doorswithout bars;-being -Slightly d* ia altering the construction of the door opening Figure 12 is-& fragmentary -v w"sub'stantialiy mechanism, and' without the necessity of-mutil'atlike Figi'fi,"but'tshowingthe formpfsign carrying ing or making' 'any substantial changes in-the bar of'Figvllg theneutralposition-of'thesquare; door proper. latch actuating shaft-being angular.

It is another'obj'ectof myinventionto enable In the"preferred;--fo1'n1of'-myinventioniillus the indicator to be selectively movedbetwen'at" tratedythe'door l5 containsthelbcking plate 16, least two positions by a simple operation arms the conventibhafkey-oprated"bolt*flythe con door knob. venti'onal s'pring retractablelatchdii' operativelv Another object is to enable the sign-Fcarri'edbyv connected, in'knowrr manner; to'the e'onventiona-l' the indicator to be-visibla'if desi-red-,'-botl'i from- 5 square" s'hankdo'or 'knob's'haft |9"operative1y" atthe inside andoutside of the door; tached to the two' knobs zo" and 2| atthe' inner" Still another object of this *invention'is t'o'pro andouter sides; respectively, of thedoonl5: The

videanobstructionto the keyhole-when the sign actuating"mechani'sm"for the"bolt'-"i1 andlatch-- is in a predetermined position, thereby prevent-- I85'fandthe iatters connectiomto the "sliaft l9," ing'a building employee, for eXampIerfrom em 4oiar'e' omitted; since-theyare of-commomcons'truc tering a room if the message 'on'the'sign i's madtion; known to-thoseskilledintheartj andne'ed' vertently overlooked. not be described for an understanding ofthe" A further objectis -to provide a device-capabie" invention. "The-escutcheon' plates 22 and' 23l to ofperforming all the abova-mentionedfunctions; be hereinafter"described;"containthe-keyholes-24 and which will neve'rthless'beboth presentable"l gand-25; respectively and'fthese' are'in registryin appearance and simple to'fabricat'efiwith"coriventional 'keylfoles"-at? 6 and 215- opera Other objects, features and advantages will tively asso'ci'atewv'vith bdl't" I'Ii so 'that'upon'theappear from the drawing and the description insertion one key in 'eith'er the front or back'i hereinafter given; t keyhol-esfthe s'aidbolt I! could-be"actuateddn'r Referring to the drawings; soknowrrma'nnerr Figure 1 is a fragmentary end view of a door" The said"escutbheon-"plates "22and *23f"hav" provided with a preferred form of my -inven-;--" peripheran flanges 28"and 29'f'respectively, the-- tion, portions being shown partly in section for front wallsscene 3 being sufficiently spaced' clarity. frorn'=th'e adjacent surfaces of the' door-"asto" Figure 2 is a front view of'the-outsideescutche "accommodate 'the zactuating' ine'chanism"for the" eon plate and knob of the door of Fig-l. indicator, eachesc'utcheorrsheikcontaining a i' Figur 3 is a 'somewhat'enlarged perspective" casirig flia "reiproable signca'rrvir'i'g bar"-33" view of the actuating mechanism'disposed'behind slida'blii" miivel'o'le'"througii'the casnigs top and the'escutcheon, the sign and carrierbar'therefor bottom slot's 34 -andj35f respectiveli'iaspring w being fragmentarilyshownr 1 mountedon*the rear wall 3'l"of-the--casin'g and 42; and where the inner and outer portions of the door are provided with indicating means, as in,

the embodiment illustrated, the said shaft extends through and rotatably supports both cam plates. The axial portion of the cam, that is, the portion 44 surrounding the shaft I9, is depressed rearwardly into the vertical slot 45 of the bar 33 and is slidably engageable with the side walls thereof, whereby the bar 33 will be guided along its vertical path by said depressed portion 44.-

Thelower portion of the cam 42 contains the aperture 45 containing an upper and a lower curved cam surface Aland, respectively, said cam surfaces joining at upperlateral recess 49 and lower lateral recess 50, said lateral recesses being at'opposite sides offthe aperture 45. ,The portion 4laof the upper cam surface that is to the left of center-line Cg-C of square shaft I9 is closer to the axis of said shaft than the right portion 41b. of-the cam. surface, and portion 48a of lower cam surface48 thatis to the left of said centerline CC is also closer to said axis than the left portioni58b. Aflixed to bar 33 and extending forwardly therefrom into aperture 46 is the follower pin and roller 52 mounted thereover, said roller being engageable' with said cam surfaces and the walls of said recesses. The side walls of the casing contain slots 53 and 54 to accommodate the peripheral portion 55 of the cam when in its.ex-

treme limiting positions,.the slot 35 accommodating said peripheral portion when the cam is in its neutral position, \as-shown'in'Figures 3 and 5.

.It will befurther noted that the escutcheon plates are securedto'the door I5 by fasteners 53,

and are provided with apertures 51 to permit the shaft l9 andassociatedxpartsto extend therethrough, the member 58 being in abutting engagement withthe outer surfaces of the escutcheons adjacent the:-apertures.5l.. The .wall 31 of casing 32 also contains anuopening 31a to per! mit the shaft l9. to pass therethrough.

When the shaft I9.is in its neutral positior as shown in Fig. 5, the sign 39: can either be in its raised or invisible position, as shown in full lines,

or in itslowered or visible position, asshown by.

dot-dash lines. In the former case the. follower 52-is in engagement. withlupper cam surface 41, and in the latter case it is in engagement with the lower cam surface 48. 1. When the shaft 19 is, bya' turning of .the.door knob, rotated in a clockwise direction to the posi--.

tion shown in Fig. '6, portion41b of upper cam will cause a lowering of bar 33, to exposethe sign 39 to .view through the'window 59in the escutcheon. When the door knoblis released and-the shaft caused to IBlllllllltO its neutral position as indicated in Fig. 5, the follower 52, in engagement with cam surface portion 481),, will remain 33 and sign-39 willremain undisturbed.

If his .desiredtot, raise the sign.,aboy,e.;tl1e; 75.=

60 surface 41 will, because'ofits downwardly slope" ing contour, force the follower 52 downwardly to. lower it into lateral recess 50 and into engages.- ment with the lower cam surface 48. This action 4 window to its invisible position indicated in Fig. 7, the shaft I9 is turned in a counterclockwise direction by operatively rotating the knob, whereby the upwardly sloping portion 48a of lower cam surface 48 will elevate the follower 52 until it is disposed within lateral recess 49. This action causes the desired upward movement of the bar 33 and the sign 39. And when the door knob is again released and the shaft l9 caused to return to its neutral position, the follower 52 will ride on portion 41a of the upper cam surface; and since said portion 41a is an arc having the axis 69 of shaft l9 as its center, the bar and the sign will remain undisturbed in its elevated position.

It is thus apparent that the two operative positions of the sign 39 can be manually effected merely by turning the door knob, there being no additional operations necessary.

As a further assurance that the occupant of a room will not be disturbed when a Do Not Dis-f turb or equivalent sign is in its exposed position, one of the keyholes, preferably the outer one, can be obstructed in the manner indicated in Figures 1' and 11. 3311 (Fig. 11) is provided with a narrow depending strip Bic (outer bar 33 of Fig. 1 having a similar strip 5|). When the bar 330, is in its lower position, the strip Bla partially obstructs the adjacent keyhole 24a in the escutcheon plate 22a, just as Bl obstructs keyhole 24 of Figures 1 and 2. When the sign carrying bar is in its raised position, the said strip 6| or Bla is above the corresponding keyhole, in its unobstructing position. And as clearly shown in Figure 11, the inside bar 33b has no depending strip, and hence can not obstruct the inner keyhole at any time. Thus, when the sign is down and exposed to view,

a failure to observe the sign will nevertheless prevent a maid or other employee from unlocking the door.

The form of bar shown in Fig. 11 is further provided with two additional holes 62 and 63 flanking the central hole through which pin 51a.

.serted in hole 52, rather than in the middle hole.

Once this setting is made, the device operates in the manner above set forth.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is to beunderstood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or manner of practicing same, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Inan indicating device for use with a door having a knob and a shaft connected thereto of the type where the knob and shaft are rotatable between an intermediate neutral position and two opposite extreme positions, the combination of a reciprocable bar movable between two limiting positions, a sign carried by the bar; a cam fixedly -mounted on theshaft and containing one upper and one lowerarcuate surface, said arcuatesurfaces being at opposite sides of the cam and having their respective centers at the axis of rotation of the cam; an upper operative surface on, the cam adjacent the upper arcuatesurface andi.

The lower portion of the outer bar seer-amass as ..isloping downwardly.eandzoutwardly e-therefromn a rlowerioperative surfaceiadjacenmthetloweriarcuate 1'. surface Mandi slopingeiupwardlye and-"outwardly therefrom-said :operati'vei surfaces being sat .oppositesides ofxthecnam; and a follower attached to the bar and engageable with said surfaces, the follower being engageable-withthe said upper operative cam surfacewhentthe. knob is rotated from its neutral position to one ofits. extreme positionsto operatively lower the bar, the follower being engageable withthe saidlower arcuate surface when the knob isgreturned to,- its neu- =t a positi to. mainta n. th .zh r a ainstim em n t e foll w r. bein .rien ase le .loweri operative surface when the knob,-,i s moved to, thegother of itsextreme positions to operatively raise the bar, thefollower,.beingengageable with the upper arcuate surface when the knob is returnedito its neutral gposition to maintainrthe ybar against movement.

',2.,An;;indic.ating. device according to .claim 1,

further provided with an escutcheon adapted for attachment to the door and in overlying relation to said bar and cam, said escutcheon having an opening adapted to permit the passage therethrough of said shaft.

3. An indicating device according to claim 2, the escutcheon covering the entire bar and the sign in both of said limiting positions, the escutcheon containing a window in registry with the sign in only one of said two limiting positions.

4. An indicating device according to claim 3, the escutcheon having a flanged periphery forming a shell completely enclosing therein said cam, bar and sign.

5. In an indicating device for use with a door having a knob and a shaft connected thereto of the type where the knob and shaft are rotatable between an intermediate neutral position and two opposite extreme positions, the combination of a reciprocable bar movable between two limiting positions, a sign carried by the bar; a cam fixedly mounted on the shaft and having an apertured portion therein containing a plurality of cam surfaces, said surfaces comprising one upper and one lower arcuate surface, said arcuate surfaces being at opposite sides of the cam and having their respective centers at the axis of rotation of the earn, an upper operative surface adjacent the upper arcuate surface and sloping downwardly and outwardly therefrom, a lower operative surface adjacent the lower arcuate surface and sloping upwardly and outwardly therefrom, said operative surfaces being at opposite sides of the cam; and a follower attached to the bar and engageable with said surfaces, the follower being engageable with the said upper operative cam surface when the knob is rotated from its neutral position to one of its extreme positions to operatively lower the bar, the follower being engageable with the said lower arcuate surface when the knob is returned to its neutral position to maintain the bar against movement, the follower being engageable with the lower operative surface when the knob is moved to the other of its extreme positions to operatively raise the bar, the follower being engageable with the upper arcuate surface when the knob is returned to its neutral position to maintain the bar against movement.

6. In an indicating device of the class described, the combination according to claim 5, the upper and lower surfaces joining at upper and lower lateral recesses at opposite sides of the aperture, the follower being disposed within said respective ereoessesuwhen:itheiiknobnanct cam areein their extreme positions. I

7. iIntan indicatingidevicetofs-thesclass described,

lower-lateral -*recesses;

" an ind icati-ng device of the class described,

the 'coinbination 'according t'o clainr' 5," further provided-fwith-amescutchon adapted for attachmentto the door;andinoyerlying';relation-to said a a dramradewu ehes n h v ang peni s adapted.- to said' shaft:

; 91,111 an indi atlneld vi fii l t e 9. .3 escrib perm h Pa sag ,c het thre e l neitudinaippenins therei th M sed. .Qut. .circular, portion j? the oombinatibn, according. ,to claim l, the, said a e fthe ..eemsz s.ef rot tio Said,

circular portion extending into and beingslidably engageable with the lateral walls of the opening, whereby the bar will be guided along its operative path by said pressed out circular portion.

10. In an indicating device for use with a door having a knob and a shaft connected thereto of the type where the knob and shaft are rotatable between an intermediate neutral position and two opposite extreme positions, the combination of a reciprocable bar movable between two limiting positions, a sign carried by the bar; a cam fixedly mounted on the shaft and containing one upper and one lower arcuate surface, said arcuate surfaces being at opposite sides of the cam and having their respective centers at the axis of rotation of the cam; an upper operative surface on the cam adjacent the upper arcuate surface and sloping downwardly and outwardly therefrom, a lower operative surface adjacent the lower arcuate surface and sloping upwardly and outwardly therefrom, said operative surfaces being at opposite sides of the cam; and a follower attached to the bar and engageable with said surfaces, the follower being engageable with the said upper operative cam surface when the knob is rotated from its neutral position to one of its extreme positions to operatively lower the bar, the follower being engageable with the said lower arcuate surface when the knob is returned to its neutral position to maintain the bar against movement, the follower being engageable with the lower operative surface when the knob is moved to the other of its extreme positions to operatively raise the bar, the follower being engageable with the upper arcuate surface when the knob is returned to its neutral position to maintain the bar against movement; an escutcheon adapted for attachment to the door and in overlying relation to said bar and cam, said escutcheon having an opening adapted to permit the passage therethrough of said shaft, further provided with a casing containing therein said earn, the bar extending vertically through the casing adjacent the cam, the casing being supported between the door and the front wall of the escutcheon, the casing having a wall substantially parallel to the front wall of the escutcheon and containing an opening for said shaft.

11. In an indicating device of the class described, the combination according to claim 10, the escutcheon containing a Window in registry with the sign in only one of said two predetermined positions, the casing containing four latentle-'20s eral .walls, the upper: wall. being below said window.

12. In an indicating device for use with a door having a keyhole, a knob and a shaft connected thereto of the type where theknob and shaft are rotatable between an intermediate neutral position and two opposite extreme positions, the combination according to claim 1, further provided with an escutcheon adapted for attachment to the door andin overlying relation to said barv and cam, said escutcheon having an opening adapted to permit thepassage therethrough of said shaft, and an outer keyhole adapted for registry with said keyhole in the door; the bar having a'strip attached theretr and which is in obstructing relation to said outer keyhole when the bar is in only one of said two predetermined positions whereby the door will be prevented from being unlocked from the outside when the strip is in said obstructing position.

13. In an indicating device of the class described, the combination according to claim 1,

said bar having a plurality of :holes adjacent said follower, each of said holes being adapted to operatively accommodate the follower.

RUDOLPH WIRTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Date 122,927 Austria May 26, 1931 

